NIA moves to get ULFA(I) chief extradited from UK

New Delhi, Sep 14: In a significant move, the National Investigation Agency has summoned the mysterious ULFA(I) chief, Abhijit Asom alias Mukul Hazarika for questioning. This move by the NIA is an extremely calculated one and is aimed at securing a red corner notice against him.

The ULFA(I) chief, Asom is currently living in the United Kingdom. He is wanted in several cases and this is yet another move by the NIA to crack down on outfits in the North East which are derailing the peace process.

Who is Asom?

The 68-year-old Abhijit Asom who goes by the alias Mukul Hazarika is a doctor by profession. He was appointed as the chairman of the ULFA(I) by the supreme commander of the outfit, Paresh Baruah. There is very little information available on Asom who goes by various aliases.

It is said that he had completed his medicine in Guwahati in the year 1970 and has been in Britain since then. The police say that he had briefly come to Assam in the early 1980s, but left immediately for the UK after that.

Intelligence Bureau officials say that he has been an active member of the ULFA(I) for long. He has been in the UK for long and hence his appointment as the ULFA(I) chairman came as a surprise to many.

He is alleged to be running the outfit from UK and the NIA says that there is a need to secure his arrest. He had been operating under the name of Mukul Hazarika and has in the past raised various issues relating to human rights violations in Assam. He is said to have submitted papers to the UN on this issue.

Interpol notice against Asom:

The NIA which has summoned him for questioning on September 30th is quite aware that he will not appear. He is in the UK for the past 30 years now and there is a need to build up a strong case to secure his extradition. The NIA says that he has been involved in several anti national activities along with Baruah.

The Assam police which has managed to get information on Asom say that he is working in a private hospital in the UK. He is there along with his family members. He is like an ideological mentor of the outfit and hence his extradition will be important, an officer said.

The ULFA(I) has been opposed to peace talks with India and the latest reports even suggested that the outfit has been backing SS Khaplang of the NSCN(K) which was responsible for the recent Manipur attack in which 18 Indian soldiers lost their lives.